People with fewer moles at risk of more aggressive skin cancer, study confirms

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, and according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the death rate is on a continuous trend and has been projected to increase further for the next 15 years. A new study has discovered that people with fewer moles are more than likely to develop this aggressive cancer as compared to people with numerous moles.

Science Daily writes that based on a study conducted in the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Dermatology in Harvard Medical School, they have concluded that people with less than 50 moles have a higher chance of getting melanoma than those with more moles.

In the clinical trial, researchers investigated the differences in the cancer by reviewing the charts of about 300 melanoma patients who have consulted the dermatology clinic from the years 2013 and 2014. Based on their findings, 89 of the cancer patients have more than 50 moles while the remaining 192 participants had fewer than the said number of moles.

Dr. Caroline Kim, FAAD, lead author of the study, director at the pigmented lesion clinic, and associated director of the cutaneous oncology program, said that as they have suspected, people with fewer moles have manifested thicker and more aggressive cancer than those with numerous moles possibly because the latter have been diagnosed with cancer at a younger age.

Yahoo! Health News reports that the researchers indicated the findings will be an important reminder for everyone to have themselves checked for skin cancer, regardless of the number of moles present on their body. Skin cancer has a bigger chance of being treated if detected early that is why it is vital to have suspicious-looking spots to be checked.

In addition, the American Academy of Dermatology has released a guideline to help identify the signs of possible skin cancer. Using the acronym ABCDE, have yourself checked if there is difference in the two halves of the mole (asymmetry), irregularity in the edges of the mole (border), variation in the hue or shade of the mole (color), bigger than six millimeters in size (diameter), and if it changes as time passes by (evolution).

Factors that affect the aggressiveness and type of the cancer may be due to genetic mutations in the body and differences in their immune system, Philly adds. In order to have a more concrete explanation and conclusion, Dr. Kim and her team suggests a bigger scale research should be conducted.

The study has been shown at the American Academy of Dermatology for the 2015 Summer Academy Meeting done in New York.